Belt-fastener.



F. HORNBY.

BELT FASTENER- APPLIOATION FILED APR. 29, 1912.

1,065,943. Patented July 1 1913.

FFTQ.

FRANK HORNBY, F LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND.

BELT-FASTENER.

To alt whom, it may concern Be it known that I, FRANK HonnBY, a subjectof the King of Great Britain, and a resident of Liverpool, England, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in or Relating toBelt-Fasteners, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in that type of belt fastener formaking butt joints on driving belts in which the abutting ends of thebelt are gripped, within recesses formed in the connecting plate, bymeans of cup headed bolts and nuts. In such types of belt fastener theends of the connecting plate have been rounded, and it is found thatthese rounded ends tend to tear or cut into the belt in the region ofthe curved edges of the plate.

One of the objects of the present invention is to avoid such tearing ofthe belt during wear. Again, the cup heads of the bolts in previoustypes have been furnished with prongs adapted to embed themselves in thebelt (and thus avoid turning of the bolt while the nut is beingtightened up;) such prongs, however, are apt to tear the material of thebelt and consequently weaken it, while the operation of producing such apronged cup head on the connecting bolts is expensive.

The present invention is directed to pro viding a type of bolt headwhich, while effectively obviating the turning of the bolt when screwingup the nut, shall be so formed as to avoid damaging the belt when inuse.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which,

Figure 1. is a plan view of the blank or stamping from which the plateof the belt fastener is formed. Fig. 2. is a plan view of the plateshowing the sides and edges curled up and the recesses embossed for thebolt heads. Fig 3. is a cross section on the line AA of Fig. 2., andFig. 4. is a cross section on the line B-B. Fig. 5. is a plan view of abelt fastener in position coupling the ends of a belt, Fig. 6. being alongitudinal vertical section on the line CG of Fig. 5. Fig. 7 is aperspective view of the bolt and nut for gripping the fastener to thebelt. Fig. 8. is a plan view of the underneath face of the nut showingthe radial locking notches, Fig. 9. showing a modified arrangement ofthe notches.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed April 29, 1912.

According to this invention the plate 1 of Patented uly 1,1913.

Serial No. 693,861.

the fastener is struck up from a sheet metal blank as shown in Fig. 1.,the dotted lines in Fig. 1., showing where the blank is subsequentlyembo-ssed.- The ends 1 and sides 1 of this blank are then curled up asshown in Fig. 2. thus providing straight transverse ends 1 across theextremities of the plate, instead of such ends being curved when lookedat in plan as in the more usual type of belt fastener. The ends 1 of theplate are well turned over during this operation of forming the plate asshown in Fig. 6. so that these edges are straight and approximatelycylindrical and are consequently very lenient to the belt in wear and donot tear into the leather or material. The longitudinal sides 1 of theplate are also well turned over as shown, thus giving longitudinalrigidity to the plate, and a central trans verse rib 2 may be embossedin the metal of the fastener plate to act in conjunction with the endcurls 1 to give transverse rigidity. Recesses 3 are stamped up in theplate, these recesses being embossed in a preferably four sidedpyramidal form and are pierced centrally at 4 to receive the bolt shank.The head 5 of the bolt 6 shown in Fig. 7 is correspondingly shapedpyramidally to socket itself within the depression of the belt 6 as thelatter is pressed into the embossed recess 3 in the plate by screwing upthe nuts 7. By such a construction the abutting ends of the belt arecompressed into the pyramidal recesses of the plate and held verysecurely therein, while the pyramidal construction effectually preventsthe bolt turning as the nut is being tightened up. The transverse ribs 2may be further joined by longitudinal shorter ribs 2 to the recesses 3thus producing an exceedingly strong form of plate. The nuts 7 areprovided with the usual podger holes 8 for tightening up, and in theunder face of the nut are cut a series of radial grooves or notches 9 toform ridges.

These notches may extend some distance across the under face of the nutas shown in Fig. 8., or as in the form shown in Fig. 9. be cut in theouter rim, only 7 of the nut, this rim being formed 011 the under face.These notches are adapted when the nut is being tightened up to engagewith the corners 3 of the embossed recesses of the plate, and springover the corners as the nut is being tightened up, thus acting to lockthe nut against unscrewing. Any number of such locking notches may befitted in the under surface of the nuts. Such a construction of beltfastener is very economical to manufacture, as it may be readily stampedup from sheet metal, and by reason of the curled ends, transverse rib,and longitudinal side curlings the plate acquires a very considerablerigidity.

I claim:

1. In a belt fastener, a rectangular plate, the ends and sides of saidplate extending upwardly and adapted to be bent clownwardly to engagethe upper edge of the plate, pyramidal embossed portions in the plate,bolts ha ing pyramidal heads corresponding in shape to the pyramidalembossed portions, and adapted to grip the belt therein, nuts for thebolts, and radial ridges on the underfaces of the nuts adaptheaded boltscorresponding in shape to the 25 pyramidal embossed parts and adapted togrip the belt therein, nuts for the bolts, and

radial ridges on the underfaces 01": the nuts adapted to cooperate withthe edges of the pyramidal parts to lock the nuts.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

FRANK HORNBY. \Vitnesses W. J. DAVIES, B. KNIGHT.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0.

